Casing packer joint



United States Patent 055cc 2,986,217 Patented May 30, 1961 CASING PACKER JOINT Leslie A. Johnston, Tulsa, Okla., assignor to Camerland Pipelines, Inc., Tulsa, Okla., a corporation of Nebraska Filed Aug. 9, 1957, Ser. No. 677,313

Claims. (Cl. 166-196) This invention relates to a packer joint for oil well bores, and more particularly to a packer joint capable of facilitating the completion operation of an oil well bore.

When the drilling of an oil well bore has been completed, and the oil bearing formations therein have been determined, it is the usual practice to lower a well casing string within the bore for a permanent installation therein throughout the producing life of the well. It is common practice to force a cement slurry downwardly through the casing and upwardly into the annular space between the well bore and the casing in order to seal off the casing from the flow of unwanted sub-surface fluids,

such as water and the like. The cementing operation also functions to securely set the casing within the well bore. However, it is often difiicult to obtain an efiicient shut off, or sealing of the well through the use of cement, and the undesirable fluids sometime enter into the easing after the cementing job has been completed. In such cases, it is necessary to lower suitable perforating tools downwardly within the well casing for perforation of the casing in order to squeeze additional cement outwardly from the casing and into the annulus between the casing and well bore in an attempt to more efficiently seal off the casing. It is often necessary to repeat the squeezing operation many times in order to secure an efficient shut off of the well. These squeezing operations are time consuming and expensive.

The present invention contemplates a novel method of completing a well by use of a casing packer joint in a manner for facilitating an eflicient shut off or sealing of the well casing during the completion operation of a well bore. The packer joint utilized comprises a pair of telescopically arranged tubular members having a packer sleeve disposed therearound. A collapsing of the telescopic members causes the packer sleeve to compress and move radially outward for contacting the side walls of the well bore and wedging tightly between the bore and the casing. The packer joint is adapted to be interposed within the casing string, and preferably a plurality of the packer joints are spaced in the casing string in order to effect an efficient sealing at a plurality of locations within the well bore. The casing is normally lowered within the bore until the lower end of the casing rests on the bottom of the bore. After the casing has thus been set on the bottom of the bore, the cement slurry is forced downwardly'through the casing and upwardly into the annular space between the bore and the casing until the cement has filledthe annular space to the desired depth. Before thecement has hardened within the bore, the packer joints within the casing string may be simultaneously collapsed for a setting thereof adjacent the walls of the well bore. The packer joints function to increase theefiiciency of the cementing operation, as well as provide additional packing of the well here to assure an efficient shut off of the well and eliminate the need for any additional squeezing of cement into the bore through the casing.

After the cement has hardened in the annular space between the casing and the well bore, the casing string having the packer joints interposed therein are usually permanent in the well bore, and normally there is no attempt to recover the cemented portion of the casing even after the well has ceased producing oil and gas fluids.

It is an important object of the present invention to provide a packer joint capable of increasing the efficiency of the completion operation of an oil well bore.

It is another object of this invention to provide a packer joint capable of assuring an efiicient and substantially positive cementing operation in an oil well bore in a manner whereby additional squeezing operations and the like are eliminated.

Another object of this invention is to provide a novel casing packer joint adapted to be interposed within a casing string in order to assure an eflicient shut off of the casing upon the permanent setting thereof within a well bore.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a novel casing packer joint for an oil well casing string, and adapted for permanent disposition within the well bore upon the completion of the Well.

It is another object of this invention to provide a novel casing packer joint for an oil well casing string which may be readily set within the well bore at substantially 'any desired predetermined depth therein.

A further object of this invention is to provide a novel casing packer joint for an oil well casing string which is so designed and constructed to preclude accidental setting of the packer at some undesirable location within the well bore.

A still further object of this invention is to provide a casing packer joint for an oil well casing string which is simple and efficientin operation and economical and'durable in construction.

Gther objects and advantages of the invention will be evident from the following detailed description, read 'in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which illustrate my invention."

In the drawings:

Figure 1 'is a vertical sectional view partly in elevation depicting a portion of a completed oil well bore having a casting string disposed therein embodying the present invention.

Figure 2 is a vertical sectional view of the novel casing packer joint in an extended position for lowering into the well bore.

Figure 3 is a vertical sectional view of the novel casing packer joint in a collapsed position for sealing oil the well casing.

Referring to the drawings in detail, reference character 10 indicates a well bore extending downwardly through a plurality of subsurface formations. The well bore 10 often extends through a plurality of longitudinally spaced oil bearing sands or formations 12, which are usually spaced several hundred feet apart in the well bore, and are interposed between limestone and other types of hard formations 14. A casing string 16 extends longitudinally through the well bore 10, as is well known, and is nomally seated on the bottom (not shown) of the well bore 10 or otherwise suitably anchored thereto for supporting the entire string of casing 16 therein. A plurality of easing packer joints, generally indicated at 18, are interposed in the casing string 16 by suitable casing collars 20. A cement mixture 22 is disposed within the annular space 23 between the well bore 10 and easing string 16, as clearly shown in Fig. 1. It is preferable to space the packer joint members 18 within the casing string 16 in such a manner that a packer joint 18 will be disposed adjacent the harder formations 14 immediately above and below each of the oil bearing formations 12 for a purpose as will be hereindrel 24.

after set forth. It will be apparent that any suitable spacing of the packer joints 18 may be utilized, however, and any desired number of the joints 18 may be provided in the casting string 16 without limitation.

Referring to Figs. 2 and 3, the packer joint 18 comprises a lower or inner tubular mandrel 24 having an exterior threaded portion 26 provided on the lower end thereof for receiving a casing collar 20 in order to secure the mandrel 24 in tandem relation in the casing string 16. The mandrel member 24 is preferably constructed from tubular material having the same inner and outer diameter as the casing 16 in order to facilitate utilization of the joint 18 as will be hereinafter set forth. An annular ring member 28 of substantially the same outer diameter as the collars 20 is suitably secured to the outer periphery of the mandrel 24 by welding, or bolting, or the like (not shown). The lower end of the ring 28 is preferably beveled or tapered at 29 in order to reduce the hazard of engaging an obstacle in the well bore during the lowering of the packing joint 18 therein. The ring 28 is spaced from the threaded portion 26 in order to assure a sufficient area 30 therebetween on the outer periphery of the mandrel 24 for utilization of slips and elevators (not shown) at the surface of the well during the lowering of the string 16 and packer joints 18 into the well bore 10. The ring member 28 provides a circumferential shoulder 32 on the lower mandrel 24 for supporting a packer sleeve 34 thereabove. The packer sleeve 34 is preferably constructed from a suitable resilient material, such as packer rubber or the like, but not limited thereto, which will resist chemical decomposition and will not dry out or fracture during the life of the oil well. Packer sleeve 34 is rotatable with respect to the upper and lower mandrels 46 and 24, respectively, as well as the sleeve 48 associated with the upper mandrel.

A lug sleeve 36 is threadedly secured at 37 to the upper end of the mandrel 24, and then may be subsequently welded for strength, if desired. The lug sleeve 36 is provided with an enlarged circumferential flange 38 having an inwardly tapered lower shoulder 40 for a purpose as will be hereinafter set forth. The upper end of the sleeve 36 as viewed in the drawings is provided with a substantially pointed annular shoulder 42. The outer periphery of the sleeve 36 is provided with suitable large threads, such as acme threads 44 spaced slightly below the tapered shoulder 40.

An upper tubular mandrel 46 is telescopically secured to the lower mandrel 24 by means of a sleeve member 48 of slightly larger diameter. The sleeve member 48 may be threadedly secured at 50 to the lower end of the upper mandrel 46, and also welded thereto, if desired, for additional strength. An annular groove 52 of a configuration complementary to the pointed shoulder 42 is provided in the enlarged sleeve 48 for receiving the shoulder 42 therein in a collapsed position for the packer joint 18, as will be hereinafter set forth.

The sleeve 48 extends downwardly over the lower mandrel 24 and is provided with a lug sleeve 54 secured to the lower end thereof. The lug sleeve 54 may be threadedly secured to the sleeve 48 at 49 and welded thereto for assuring a strong joint therebetween. The outer periphery of the lug sleeve 54 is preferably tapered inwardly at 55 for a purpose as will be hereinafter set forth. The lug sleeve 54 is provided with an inwardly directed circumferential fiange 56 having an inwardly tapered shoulder 58 provided thereon for abutment with the tapered shoulder 40 in an extended position for the packer joint 18, as will be hereinafter set forth. A suitable lubricant (not shown) may be provided on the inner periphery of the sleeve 48 for facilitating the telescopic movement thereof with respect to the lower man- The inner periphery of the circumferential flange 56 is provided with a large threaded portion 60, such as an acme thread, for mating with the threads 44 of the inner lug sleeve 36 in an extended ,posiiton of the packer joint 18. It will be apparent that a suitable J-slort connection or the like (not shown) may be utilized in lieu of the threads 60 and 40 for retaining the packer joint 18 in the extended position.

An annular ring member 62 similar to the ring member 28 is suitably secured to the outer periphery of the sleeve 48 by welding, or bolting, or the like (not shown). The ring 62 is preferably disposed adjacent the top of the enlarged sleeve 48 and provides a circumferential shoulder 64 for receiving the upper end of the packer sleeve 34 thereagainst. The shoulder 64 is preferably tapered, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3, for precluding any outward dislodging of the packer sleeve 34 therefrom and securely retaining the packer sleeve 34 around the sleeve 48. The upper portion of the ring 62 is preferably beveled or tapered at 65 for facilitating longitudinal movement of the packer sleeve 34 within the well bore 10.

The upper end of the mandrel 46 is provided with exterior threads 66 for receiving one of the casing collars 20 thereon for interposing the packer joint 18 in the casing string 16. The threaded portion 66 is spaced from the ring 62 in order to provide a space 68 on the outer periphery of the mandrel 46 for facilitating the use of slips and elevators (not shown) at the surface of the well bore during the lowering of the packer joint 18 therein.

It is preferable that the upper mandrel 46 be constructed from the same size material as the casing 16 and the lower mandrel 24. It is particularly important that the internal diameter of the casing string 16 and the mandrels 24 and 46 be substantially the same in order to permit the utilization of various oil well tools (not shown), and the like, through the interior of the casing string 16 without hazards or obstructions at the packer joint sections 18.

The packer sleeve 34 is usually spaced slightly from the tapered end 55 of the lug sleeve 54 and the outer periphery of the lower mandrel 24 in order to provide an annular chamber 70 therebetween. The tapered portion 55 will thus slide readily between the packer sleeve 34 and lower mandrel 24 as the upper mandrel 46 is moved downwardly with respect to the lower mandrel 24. It is preferable to provide a suitable lubricant (not shown) in the chamber 70 for facilitating the lowering of the upper mandrel 46.

Operation When it is desired to set the casing string 16 in the well bore 10, the casing string is lowered within the well bore in any well known manner (not shown). As the casing string 16 is being lowered into the well bore 10, a plurality of the packer joints 18 may be interposed therein at any desired spacing in accordance with the predetermined location of the known geological sub-surface formations. For example, it is desirable to provide a packer joint adjacent a hard formation 14 both above and below an oil bearing formation 12. It is important that the packer joints 18 be disposed adjacent a hard formation in order that the radial pressure of the packer sleeve 34 against the walls of the well bore will not cause a cave in of the bore hole.

The casing string 16 is usually lowered within the bore until the lower end of the casing is resting on the bottom of the bore. It will be apparent, however, that the casing may be lowered within the bore to substantially any desired depth and anchored therein in any well known manner (not shown). During the lowering operation, the packer joints 18 interposed in the casing string 16 are in an extended position as shown in Fig. 2. The lower mandrel 24 is suspended from the sleeve 48 by the contact between the complementary tapered shoulders 40 and 58. In addition, the large or acme threads 44 and 60 are engaged in the extended position for the packer joint 18 in order to preclude any accidental collapsing of the joint. Thus, if a bridge, or the like (not shown) is encountered by the casing 16 as it is lowered within the well bore, there will be no accidental collapsing of the packer joint 18. In the extended position for the packer joint 18, the packer sleeve 34 is elongated and is disposed substantially adjacent the outer periphery of the sleeve 48. This permits the packer joints 18 to be readily lowered within the well bore with no interference therebetween.

After the casing string 16 has been lowered to the bottom of the well bore, or is anchored therein, cement slurry 22 is forced downwardly through the casing and upwardly into the annulus 23 between the casing :16 and the well bore 10 in any well known manner (not shown). The cement 22 is normally placed in the well bore in order to shut off the well casing from any undesirable well fluids, such as water. When the cement 22 has been injected into the well bore to a suflicient depth around the casing 16, the packer joints 18 are then collapsed in order to set the packer sleeve 34 in the well bore. In order to release the packer joint 18 from the extended position, it is necessary to rotate the casing string 16 in order to disengage the acme threads 44 and 60. There is a torque load on the lower end of the casing string resulting from the surrounding cement and any equipment which might be attached to the lower end of the casing string, and when the upper end of the casing string is rotated, the acme threads will be the loosest connection in the casing string, and will, therefore, disengage with out endangering any of the threaded joints between the sections of the casing String. As soon as the threads 44 and 60 are disengaged, the upper mandrel 46 and sleeve 48 will tend to fall downwardly over the lower mandrel 24. This will notify the operators at the surface of the well bore that the packer joints 18 are ready to be collapsed.

The packer joints 18 will all be collapsed substantially simultaneously within the well bore 10. In order to collapse the joints 18, it is only necessary to slack off on the weight at the surface of the well, as is well known, whereby the weight of the casing string 16 above the packer joints 18 will move the upper mandrel 46 and sleeve 48 downwardly over the lower mandrel 24 until the pointed shoulder 42 is engaged in the complementary annular groove 52, as shown in Fig. 3. This telescopic movement or collapsing of the upper and lower mandrels 24 and 46 compresses the packer sleeve 34 between the shoulders 64 and 32 whereby the packer sleeve 34 will be forced radially outward and into a tight and wedging engagement with the walls of the bore 10. This outward movement of the packer sleeve 34 will displace a portion of the cement 22 and force the cement into the well bore, as well as upwardly and downwardly in the annular space between the casing and well bore. This packing of the cement increases the efliciency of the cement itself in the shut off of the casing 16. Furthermore, the wedging engagement of the packer sleeve 34 adjacent the side wall of the well bore functions for additional packing or sealing of the casing from unwanted fluids therein.

The packer joints 18 are designed for a permanent installation within the well bore, and remain therein with the casing string after the cement 22 has hardened. After the cement has hardened, the casing will be perma nently set within the well bore, and the combination of the cement and the packer sleeve 34 will assure an efficient shut off of the casing. Thus, the need for any further squeezing operations is eliminated. The well casing may be perforated in any well known manner for permitting the oil and gas products to enter the casing for production therefrom.

From the foregoing, it will be apparent that the present invention provides a novel casing packer joint adapted to be interposed within a casing string disposed in a well bore. The casing packer joint may be collapsed after the casing has been set in the well bore and cement has been disposed in the annular space therebetween. The

e a collapsing of the packer joint tightly wedges the packer sleeve against the well bore for assuring an eflici'ent shut off or sealing of the casing from unwanted fluids. However, it will be apparent that the packer joint has utility in a variety of applications. For example, the novel packing'joint may be interposed in a liner string when it is desired to deepen a well at some time after the easing has been originally set. The packer joint in such an instance would eliminate the necessity of cementing around the liner, and would assure an eflicient sealing thereof. The use of cable tool drilling can be aided by using the packer joint for obtaining temporary water shut offs in orderto drill the well to an increased depth. The packer joint may be utilized for water shut offs of upper horizons to prevent the loss of fluid circulation as is common in drilling in the Mid-Continent areas. Furthermore, the packer joint may be utilized for packing off formation waters in formations or horizons above the drilling zone in order to permit the use of jet drilling with air or gas for a more economical search for oil and gas products.

Changes may be made in the combination and arrangement of par-ts as heretofore set forth in the specification and shown in the drawings, it being understood that any modification in the precise embodiment of the invention may be made within the scope of the following claims without departing from the spirit of the invention.

I claim:

1. A casing packer joint for an oil well casting string, comprising a pair of telescopically arranged tubular members, a flexible packer sleeve disposed around substantially the entire telescopic portions of the tubular members, cooperating lug means for retaining the tubula-r members inan extended position, means for precluding accidental telescopic contracting of the tubular members, said packer sleeve being rotatable relative to at least one of the telescoping members and being responsive to the telescopic contracted movement of the tubular members for radially expanding around the casing string in the oil well, means for limiting the telescopic contracting movement between the tubular members.

2. A casing packer joint adapted to be interposed in an oil well casing string, and comprising a lower tubular mandrel, an upper tubular mandrel telescopically disposed over the lower mandrel, lug means cooperating between the upper and lower mandrels for supporting the lower mandrel in an extended position, a resilient packer sleeve disposed around substantially the entire telescopic portions of the mandrels, shoulder means provided on the mandrels for retaining the packer sleeve therebetween, said packer sleeve being rotatable relative to at least one of said mandrels and being responsive to a telescopic positioning of the mandrels to radially expand around the casing string and in the well, means for limiting the downward movement of the upper mandrel with respect to the lower mandrel, and means for precluding accidental telescopic movement between the mandrels.

3. A casing packer joint adapted to be interposed in an oil well casing string, and comprising a lower tubular mandrel, an upper tubular mandrel telescopically disposed over the lower mandrel, tapered lug means cooperating between the upper and lower mandrels for supporting the lower mandrel in a telescopically extended position between the mandrels, means cooperating between the mandrels for limiting the downward movement of the upper mandrel with respect to the lower mandrel, a threaded connection between the mandrels for precluding accidental downward movement of the upper mandrel with respect to the lower mandrel, a resilient packer sleeve disposed around substantially the entire telescopic portions of the upper and lower mandrels, longitudinally spaced circumferential shoulder members provided on the upper and lower mandrels for retaining the packing sleeve therebetween, said packer sleeve disposed in an elongated disposition in the extended position 7 of the mandrels for facilitating disposition of the casing string within the oil well, said packer sleeve being rotatable relative to at least one of said mandrels and being responsive to the downward movement of the upper mandrel with respect to the lower mandrel for radially expanding into a wedging engagement between the casing string and the oil well.

4. A casing packer joint comprising a pair of aligned mandrels having like internal diameters, a telescopic sleeve secured to one mandrel adapted to telescopically extend over the end of the other mandrel, said sleeve having an internal flange slidable on said other mandrel at one end, and an annular internal shoulder at the other end, a lug member secured on the end of said other mandrel having an external flange slidable within said sleeve, and an expandable sleeve of resilient packer rubher overlying substantially all of the telescopic portion of said telescopic sleeve, said expandable sleeve being rotatable with respect to said telescopic sleeve and said one mandrel and said other mandrel when said joint is extended, and annular exterior inwardly inclined abutments at both ends of said expandable sleeve and secured to said telescopic sleeve and other mandrel respectively, the abutment secured to said last named mandrel being spaced axially a suflicient distance from said lug memher, and internal sleeve shoulder, when said joint is expanded to permit full travel of said external flange of said lug member within the length of said sleeve between said internal sleeve shoulder, and said internal sleeve flange upon contraction of the joint by telescopic action.

5. A casing packer joint comprising a pair of aligned mandrels having like internal diameters, a telescopic sleeve secured to one mandrel adapted to telescopically extend over the end of the other mandrel, said sleeve having an internal flange slidable on said other mandrel at one end, and an annular internal shoulder at the other end, a lug member secured on the end of said other mandrel having an external flange slidable within said sleeve, and an expandable sleeve of resilient packer rubber overlying substantially all of the telescopic portion of said telescopic sleeve, said expandable sleeve being rotatable with respect to said telescopic sleeve and said one mandrel and said other mandrel when said joint is extended, and annular exterior inwardly inclined abutments at both ends of said expandable sleeve and secured to said telescopic sleeve and other mandrel respectively, the abutment secured to said last named mandrel being spaced axially a sufficient distance from said lug member, and intemal sleeve shoulder, when said joint is expanded to permit full travel of said external flange of said lug member within the length of said sleeve between said internal sleeve shoulder, and said internal sleeve flange upon contraction of the joint by telescopic action, and an annular pointed shoulder on said lug member and an annular groove complemental to said pointed shoulder in said internal sleeve shoulder to center said lug member in respect to said sleeve, when the joint is collapsed.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,956,694 Parrish May 1, 1934 2,120,981 Layne et al June 21, 1938 2,156,939 Fulkerson May 2, 1939 2,162,261 Layne June 13, 1939 2,342,884 Moore Feb. 29, 1944 2,495,642 Penick Jan. 24, 1950 2,695,067 Smith et al Nov. 23, 1954 2,699,214 Sweet Jan. 11, 1955 

